Art Institute Wins Appeal In Schiele Nazi-Loot Dispute

By Corey Rothauser

A New York state appeals court Thursday vacated a warrant and orders requiring the Art Institute of Chicago to surrender an Egon Schiele painting to the heirs of Jewish art collector Fritz Grünbaum, finding a criminal-law procedure for returning stolen property could not be used to resolve a sharply contested ownership dispute without full civil proceedings.

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Ill. Woman Says Apple AirTags Enabled Stalking Abuse

By Celeste Bott

An Illinois woman sued Apple in Illinois federal court Wednesday, alleging the tech giant negligently released AirTags without adequate safeguards despite knowing stalkers could misuse them and saying she has been secretly tracked with an AirTag, physically attacked and forced to relocate multiple times.

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IBM, J&J Get Incurable Data Breach Suit Tossed For Good

By Bonnie Eslinger

A New York federal judge dismissed a proposed class action alleging IBM and Johnson & Johnson's healthcare arm failed to safeguard sensitive health information of thousands of patients before a 2023 data breach, saying he provided plaintiffs a chance to fix their complaint, and they didn't cure its "deficiencies."

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Insurer Off The Hook For $5M E-Cig Wholesaler Fire Coverage

By Gianna Ferrarin

An Illinois federal judge handed a complete win to an insurer on its counterclaim that an electronic cigarette product wholesaler isn't owed nearly $5 million in coverage for a warehouse fire because it misrepresented important facts about its business when seeking coverage.

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1st Circ. Lets HUD Shift $1.3B In Homelessness Aid

By Carolyn Muyskens

A First Circuit panel said the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development may redirect $1.3 billion in homelessness funding from programs that focus on permanent housing to those supporting temporary shelter and assistance, finding the Trump administration likely was not required to go through a notice-and-comment procedure.

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Auto Lender OKs $709.5M Multistate Deal Over Subprime Loans

By Brian Steele

The subprime auto lender Credit Acceptance Corp. has agreed to provide $709.5 million in cash and debt relief as part of a 40-state settlement to resolve allegations that it originated loans to borrowers who could not afford them, attorneys general announced Thursday.

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Trader Joe's Faces Lawsuits Over Sugar Labeling

By Celeste Bott

Two proposed class actions filed in Illinois federal court Wednesday accuse Trader Joe's of misleading consumers by labeling its Sweet & Sour Gummy Worms and dark chocolate chips as containing zero sugar and no added sugar, respectively, when both products contain an ingredient classified as a sugar under federal labeling rules.

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Cannabis Co. Owners Ask To Toss $2M Investment Suit

By Jonathan Capriel

The entrepreneurs behind a Chicago dispensary urged a federal judge to end a lawsuit accusing them of defrauding investors out of nearly $2 million, arguing the claims have no business being heard in Ohio, belong in arbitration and are legally insufficient.

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Ill. Judge Won't Say Insurer Must Cover Fatal Crash Deal

By Danielle Ferguson

An Illinois federal judge on Wednesday refused to declare that an insurer must indemnify a trucking company in a settlement over a fatal crash, saying additional information is needed to resolve questions about whether the at-fault driver was an employee of the insured trucking company.

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Ore. Judge Denies HHS' Attempt To Amend Gender Care Order

By Dan McKay

An Oregon federal judge on Thursday rejected the Trump administration's bid to narrow an earlier order that voided a policy declaration central to the government's crackdown on gender-affirming care for minors.

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7th Circ. Questions Illinois' Out-Of-State Liquor Delivery Ban

By Lauraann Wood

The Seventh Circuit seemed unsure Thursday whether it should back a district court decision tossing two wine collectors' constitutional claim against an Illinois law barring out-of-state retailers delivering alcohol to in-state customers, questioning the state's underlying reasoning for the ban.

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7th Circ. Backs Concrete Co. In $23M Pension Exit Fight

By Kellie Mejdrich

The Seventh Circuit turned down a multiemployer pension fund's bid to reinstate a $23 million withdrawal liability bill against a concrete company, splitting Thursday with two other appellate courts on interpreting how an employer's prior partial withdrawal applies to a future complete exit.

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How FTC's $20B Amazon Suit May Shake Up Ad Enforcement

Gonzalo Mon at Kelley Drye discusses the significance of the Federal Trade Commission's recent suit against Amazon for allegedly overcharging advertising customers more than $20 billion, the company's potential defenses, and the context of rapidly evolving digital advertising technology.

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How GCs Can Assess The Risks Of Emerging AI Laws

Amid a swirl of momentous legislative activity aimed at regulating artificial intelligence, general counsel must return to first principles when determining whether new laws will apply and whether the company’s use could cause regulators to subject it to additional regulation, say attorneys at WilmerHale.

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Senate Confirms Kirkland Partner To Texas Federal Bench

By Courtney Bublé

The Senate voted 49-45 on Thursday to confirm Kasdin Miller Mitchell, a partner at Kirkland & Ellis LLP, to serve as a U.S. district judge for the Northern District of Texas.

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Analysis

Sue To Stop AI Armageddon? Not So Fast, Attys Say

By Y. Peter Kang

As executives at leading artificial intelligence companies increasingly assert that their own technology could one day pose an existential threat to humanity, a natural question follows: If the risk is real, can anyone sue to stop it before disaster strikes?

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Clancy Atty Denies Malpractice Claim By Man Serving Life

By Julie Manganis

A prominent Massachusetts criminal defense attorney best known for representing Lindsay Clancy has been accused in a separate case of "abandoning" a client who is serving life sentences for second-degree murder and home invasion, allegations the lawyer denies.

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AI Flubs, More Secure PACER Get Judiciary Forum Spotlight

By Jeff Overley

Misuse of artificial intelligence tools and a "state-of-the-art" revamp of electronic dockets in federal cases were among the hottest topics Thursday at a major meeting of judiciary leaders, who also heard a lawmaker warn of eroding trust in the U.S. Department of Justice.

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Analysis

For Single-Party FTC, Easier Suits May Come With A Cost

By Bryan Koenig

The Federal Trade Commission has ditched its historical multimember, multiparty ethos for a one-party regime in which fewer dissents might make it easier for Chairman Andrew Ferguson to pursue his agenda, but it also forecloses the potential "moderating influence" that comes with winning broad buy-in from commissioners of two parties.

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Immigration Attorney Wants SEC Sanctioned In EB-5 Case

By Tom Lotshaw

An immigration attorney and her firm asked a New York federal judge to sanction the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for failing to reasonably investigate an allegedly bogus unregistered securities claim it brought against them in an EB-5 immigrant investor case.

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Weaponization Fund Plaintiffs Say Discovery Ruling Was Right

By Jared Foretek

Plaintiffs suing over the Trump administration's once-proposed "anti-weaponization fund" are telling a Virginia federal judge to reject the U.S. Department of Justice's objections to a magistrate judge's discovery order, accusing the administration of stonewalling their requests and urging prompt discovery production.

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